Tina Kalivas

THE FINAL day of RAFW sees the bar raised to a new level by petite South Australian <a href="#" onclick="window.open('/vogue_daily/popup.asp?keyword=tina kalivas','search', 'toolbar=0,status=no,menuBar=0,scrollbars=no,resizable=no,width=250,height=450,left=10,top=100')" class="maintextimageu"> Tina Kalivas.

Fash pack take note: this is a designer who is set to make waves on an international level. She already has a list of esteemed supporters; UK PR agency Relative have put her on their books, she is already stocked at Browns Focus, and has a huge fan in British <I>Vogue</I>'s fashion features associate Pippa Holt.

Her spring/summer 2008 collection would have to be deemed the best yet. Great denim pieces with aged Victorian lace successfully blended past and present, Eighties power shoulders kept shapes tight and boxy, and Tina's signature colour blocking was relaxed through sheer silks.

"This is the strongest show I have seen this week," said Holt. "You can tell Tina really had her blinkers on and did her own thing. This collection had such a level of confidence it could be taken to London Fashion Week."

Such praise isn't without due cause. Kalivas demonstrates such attention to detail (it can't hurt befriending owners of a kimono factory and generating production there); the pin-tucked red and gold silk skirt was breathtaking - a forever piece you'd guard with your life. (May 2 2008, AM)